The Elusive Moose

One of the things that kept everyone moving on the trail were clues left behind by a MOOSE!
There were tracks about the size of my hand following around the edge of the frozen lake.  In a clearing we found a large patch of very long dark brown hairs.  It appeared the moose had a little rest leaving behind its mark.  It was quite an adventure!  We didn't spot it, but we think we were hot on it's trail :)

Along the Way

I never cease to be amazed at the very cool things we see in nature.  On our walk today we stood for close to thirty minutes watching a beautiful Pileated Woodpecker eat insects from a dead tree a few meters away from us.  We listened to two Ravens calling to each other, moving ever closer to each other as they did.  There were burr wars and hide and seek in the tall grasses.
Elias spotted some newly cut down trees with clear markings of a beaver.  As we went down the river we came to it's lodge, the new logs sits at the entrance.  

A Special Seed

Dainty milkweed babies, wrapped in cradles green,

Rocked by mother nature, fed by hands unseen.

Brown coats have the darlings, slips of milky white

and wings- that's a secret- they are folded out of sight.

The cradles grow so narrow- what will babies do?

They'll only grow the faster, and look up toward the blue

and now they've found the secret, they are flying through the air

They've left the cradles empty, do milkweed babies care?

author unknown

Bear Wise

The Ministry of Natural Resources invited our homeschooling group to participate in a bear awareness program offered to school age children. The kids learned about bear behaviour through an interactive presentation. We heard stories about bears from our area, got to handle tracking collars, different skulls, furs, look at paw prints and teeth. Most importantly we learned about bear safety, how to keep them away from our homes and what to do if we encounter one.

A black bear can smell just over a kilometer away, which often means a barbecue can draw in a hungry bear. They also have incredible memories, if one year they find a bird feeder at some one's property it is highly likely they will try again the next year. This includes hummingbird feeders, providing a nice drink to wash whatever snack down. Black bears eat dead things....so don't play dead. Be clearly human sounding; talk instead of growl if you are scaring it away, you don't want to be confused for another animal (or meal). Make yourself big and back slowly (don't run...they like to play chase) away.
We have bears in our neighbourhood, so its an important reminder as to what we do.

Salamander Trail

We joined friends for a hike on a trail we have never been on. It follows along a winding river, with streams branching off to follow. One of the streams lead to a waterfall and a magical place to play. There were bridges of fallen logs, leaf covered hills to slide down, minnows and water striders to follow. While exploring we turned rocks and logs over and we found lots and LOTS of eastern redback salamanders. It was very exciting to find them.

The trail was also covered, completely with a trail of trilliums. Truly beautiful. We have renamed many trails because of the discoveries we've made or experiences we have had. This trail will now be known to us as Salamander Trail.

Curious Creatures

Some of the creature discoveries we have been stumbling across and searching out; tree frogs, garter snakes, foxes (one of whom enjoyed eating two of our chickens), porcupine, grouse, deer, american kestrel, blue heron, tadpoles to name a few.

The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Music

.....Well they aren't hills, it's our yard.

And you can't really see me as Maria can you?

But the music part is totally accurate. The outdoors is alive with sounds, music. I am in awe of the stark contrast between the winter and the spring. Perhaps I am so aware of it because the mild winter meant lots of time spent outside at night this year and really take in the quiet of those nights. The type of winter quiet where you feel like if you strain your hearing just a little bit more you could hear those incredible stars twinkle. The snow underneath the snow shoes crunches loudly, echoing off the trees as you walk. Your breathing sounds loud against the silent backdrop.


This past month the spring music has been like an orchestra. A different instrument, voice being added every few days, at different times. The ravens, the robins, the cardinals, all chiming in. A pair of ruffled grouse making noisy appearances, our chickens clucking as they lay their eggs, the splashes of kids exploring the pond. The tree frogs singing loudly enough they can be heard through closed doors. It's marvelous. I really feel like I connect with the idea of the earth waking from a winter sleep, that I have witnessed this awakening as opposed to being caught off guard that spring arrived. One of the kids commented when we were talking about how beautiful this process has been for us, that it is like watching a flower open in slow motion, stop photography is it called? Seeing the details of the flower petals pull open, revealing each part of its growth as opposed to coming across a beautiful grown flower.

Favorite Places

When the kids were little, the oldest were about 6, 4 and 2 years old we belonged to our first coop. There were four families, all with homeschooling plans and similarly aged kids. We planned activities that ranged from gymnastics to crafting to art. The kids loved it, as did the mums. We also planned a series of field trips which we opened up to a larger group of homeschoolers. I organized some hiking outings to a few different natural spots. We visited these different spots during the different seasons, so the kids could see the same area changed through the seasons.

Ever since that coop we have tried as a family to visit our favorite natural places during each of the seasons, giving us the opportunity to observe the changes and see the beauty in the different stages. Today we went back to a favorite park, on a trail we are beginning to know well. As we round different corners I can hear the kids shouting out, "the rock slide is just up ahead" or "the stream of many waterfalls is around the corner". They are beginning to claim it as part of their world, know it on a completely new level.

It was a wonderful hike. Shai is getting to stage where he walks more than he does ride in the toboggan (there is barely enough snow in the woods for it now). His comfort zone for exploring is growing and he often wants to do it without me. There was lots of mud and water to tromp through and rocks to climb. Only one person fell in and only one close call at the waters edge.
And that sunshine. Truly. Magical.

Sweet Water

Cold crisp nights, warm sunny days, which means the sap is running. We put up our three buckets last week and since then have gathered about 8 buckets full sap! It is amazing how much sap drips, which I guess is a good thing considering the sap/syrup ration (about 18litres to 1 litre). This weekend we began boiling off the sap. We have a tripod set up over our fire pit and we continually fill a pot hung over the fire. There is so much sap and our process isn't as quick as it would be if we had a large flat tray for the boil off, but it works and its what we have at the moment. It just means we will be boiling for days to come....maybe even weeks. The reward for all the hard work and fire maintaining happens to be sweet enough!

Early Morning Adventures

The sun is just over the horizon, almost everyone is nestled asleep in their warm beds..... except for Elias and Ben. For them this is the perfect time to bundle up and head outside to see what kind of adventure they can find. Today, the glimpses of a pileated woodpecker, a wondrously large bird. They got the camera and followed it around our woods as it jumped from tree to tree. Adventures are a great way to start the day.

Winter walking

A light snowfall, a tiny bit of sunshine was enough reason to enjoy a winter wonderland walk through the woods. Last year we enjoyed the ice at one of our favorite places so much, we were excited to see what this year might hold. The beauty that each of the seasons hold is so clear in this natural place. I love how every time we visit we all line up to look at the raging falls; in silence. Just taking it in. We had the whole place to ourselves, no other prints on the snow except a deer and what we think was a coyote (and the hopes that it might have been a wolf).

Out of the Palm of Our Hands

Feeding the chickadees out of our hands (or off our heads!) is something have grown to love. Before we moved we had a few favorite places we loved to go to do this. We have very friendly chickadees here at the house and have had them come next to us to get some seed. This has been equally rewarding and exciting.

While on our hike at the bog we were followed by lots of birds. When the bag of banana bread came out the number quickly multiplied. The kids quickly held out their hands with crumbs and within minutes were hand feeding lots of chickadees. Soon to follow were the not so little friendly gray jays. It was quite a thrill to have such big birds landing on you. After the jays left a few nuthatches felt daring enough to come have a snack.
This was Shai's first time having the birds land on his hand. It was a little intimidating at first but with a little bit of help from big brother he was a pro!

It was quickly declared the best spot to feed the birds and there are plans to return soon.

Spruce Bog

We spent the afternoon walking the Spruce Bog trail at Algonquin park. A boardwalk winds through two separate bogs, allowing you to get a close up view of the plants, grasses and mosses growing. A bog is a poorly drained area that typically has a lot of spruce, evergreen shrubs such as heather, peat moss, etc. growing. These particular plants cause an acidic environment and therefore micro organisms in this area don't grow. The layer of moss and soil lay on top of the water.

The kids, being the brave explorers they are were walking on top of this layer. To look at it, you would think it is the same as the forest floor or an open space in the woods. There are beautiful red plants and green and brown grasses growing. When they walk on it, the ground is a little squishy. The kids quickly went from walking to jumping on this spongy layer (while I held my breath expecting them to fall right through). The earth rolled like waves as they jumped up and down. It looked almost like an earthquake rippling out from where they landed. Watching them and the reaction was amazing. And no one got wet!

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